PSEUDOBOLEITE

    Class : Halides
    Subclass : Oxychlorides
    Crystal system : Tetragonal
    Chemistry : Pb31Cu24Cl62(OH)48
    Rarity : Uncommon

Pseudoboleite is a very rare secondary mineral from copper deposits, typical of arid climates in a chlorinated environment (closed basins, evaporite lagoons and marine coastlines). It is also found in certain industrial slags. Its name is constructed from the Greek pseudês (false) and boleite, because we observe a chemical relationship between these two minerals. Pseudoboleite very rarely forms individual tabular crystals, always very small (less than 1 mm); it usually constitutes oriented (epitaxial) lamellar intergrowths on the faces of cubic boleite crystals.

Main photo : Pseudoboleite epitaxy on boleite from Boleo, Mexico © Christophe Boutry

Pseudoboleite from Amelia Mine, Boleo, Baja, Mexico
Pseudoboleite from Amelia Mine, Boleo, Mexico © OT. Ljøstad
Pseudoboleite from La Poderosa Mine, Caracoles, Chile © Elmar Lackner
Twinned pseudoboleite from the scoria of Thorikos Bay, Laurion, Greece © Ko Jansen

Pseudoboleite in the World

Pseudoboleite occurs systematically along with boleite, and very frequently with cumengeite. It is found in the same deposits as boleite : Amelia mine in the Boleo district (Mexico), in Broken Hill (Australia), in Mammoth St-Anthony (Arizona) as well as in the slag of lead-silver-copper mines Laurion (Greece).

Pseudoboleite in France

In France, pseudoboleite is known in the slag of Crozet (Loire).

Twinning

Multiple twins on {100} are known but very rare and can form singular cross pseudocubes.

Fakes and treatments

No fakes listed for this mineral species.


Hardness : 2.5
Density : 4.85
Fracture : Undetermined
Streak : Pale green

TP : Translucent
RI : 2.000 to 2.030
Birefringence : 0.030
Optical character : Uniaxial -
Pleochroism : None
Fluorescence : None

Solubility : Nitric acid

Magnetism : NoneRadioactivity : None

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